I discussed online shopping aggregators a few weeks ago and today I’m going to dive into one cash back site a little deeper – TopCashback.com. TopCashback has a unique revenue strategy that is able to pass 100% of the cash back to the consumer. Most cash back sites like FatWallet negotiate a rate with a website such as Staples.com.  The site will then take a portion of that rate and pass the rest on to the consumer.  For instance, if FatWallet negotiates a rate of 10% cash back at Staples.com, they take 3% and pass the remaining 7% on to the consumer.  While 7% isn’t as high as 10%, it’s still better than the 0% we’d get if FatWallet didn’t exist. However, TopCashback devised a completely different model.

The way TopCashback works is instead of taking a portion of the rate they negotiate with an online store such as Staples.com, they have advertisements on their website.  These advertisements pay for the hosting of the website as well as the salary of the employees.  This means that instead of only getting 7% cash back at Staples.com, we would get the full 10% in this example.  What does this mean for us? It means that we can save more money buying everyday items so that we can travel more!  Another great thing about TCB is that they don’t require you to have a minimum amount of cash back in your account before you can cash out. You can get your money if you have $.01 or $100; it doesn’t matter.

Now let’s take a few stores to see how TCB does against its competition (as of 5/24/2012):

As you can see, against cash back sites directly TopCashback beats them all.  In the case of Kohl’s with Chase Ultimate Rewards you see that they can be beat; but you’ll need a Chase Ultimate Rewards earning credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred^SM Card or the Ink Bold® Charge Card.  With TCB there are no such restrictions.  Check with CashBackHolic to make sure you’re getting the most cash back; but in most cases you’ll see TopCashback at the top of the list.  You’ll need an account with TCB to earn cash back, but signing up is easy.

Deal of the Day

For today’s Deal of the Day FlyerTalk is giving away A FlyerTalk Luggage Tag & Hoodie combo for the best overall travel deal submitted. A great mileage run, mistake fare, partner promo, new card sign-up offer, or the special twist you figured out on a deal today. Add it to the comments section of this post (with your First Name, Last Initial, and 3 letter airport code) or this afternoon’s Deal of the Day post to be eligible to win.